@erinbanco discusses the White House’s plan to find missing vaccines. @RepDebDingell recounts being trapped in the Capital. @therickwilson addresses disgraced John Weaver.
Missing vaccines? Yep—millions are untraceable and time is ticking.
“The No. 1 priority within the Biden admin right now is finding doses and making sure they don't go to waste before they start to ramp up supply through other means,” @erinbanco says.
Biden leadership is giving reporters the runaround, @erinbanco says.
“Their rhetoric right now has been, ‘We have only been here for X amount of days, please give us time.’ I think they’re only going to be able to use that excuse for so long.”
EXCLUSIVE: Biden's communications staff have already probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during briefings, according to three sources and written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast trib.al/g2azTNp
The requests prompted concerns among the White House press corps, whose members are sensitive to the perception that they are coordinating with political communications staffers trib.al/g2azTNp
“While it’s a relief to see briefings return...the press can't really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want,” one White House correspondent said. “That's not really a free press at all.” trib.al/g2azTNp
NEW: With over a trillion dollars in relief for the pandemic hanging in the balance, nine Republicans and one Democratic president entered the Oval Office having promised to hear each other out. But it seems that real compromise was never in the cards. trib.al/RHq6PB8
“I wouldn’t say that we came together on a package tonight—no one expected that,” Sen. Susan Collins told reporters standing in the snowbanks outside the West Wing after a meeting she described as “productive,” “frank,” and “useful.” trib.al/RHq6PB8
Meanwhile, WH press secretary Jen Psaki said: “While there were areas of agreement, the President also reiterated his view that Congress must respond boldly and urgently, and noted many areas which the Republican senators' proposal does not address.” trib.al/RHq6PB8
LISTEN NOW: @NormOrnstein pinpoints when Trumpism began—and it started before Trump took office. Plus! Kevin McCarthy is catching up to Mitch McConnell for Worst Congressional Leader trib.al/RMpcnEZ
“There are plenty of Republicans, and I put Rob Portman in that category, who know perfectly well that this stuff is just awful, or plenty of it is, but they’d gone along because they’re a part of the cult,” he says trib.al/RMpcnEZ
Next, the two discuss a topic @MollyJongFast gets crap for and that’s why Diane Feinstein really needs to retire. And the two roast Kevin McCarthy, big time.
“McCarthy had this moment to be free of Trump. And he just went back for more,” Molly says. trib.al/RMpcnEZ
Kevin McCarthy supposed to be a leader—the leader, in fact, of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. But he ain’t doing much leading. trib.al/Y0tULuG
In this episode of @NewAbnormalPod, @rickwilson and @mollyjonfast chat about how McCarthy went in a matter of weeks from angrily criticizing Donald Trump for inciting the MAGA mob that attacked the Capitol—to kissing up to the entire Trump family. trib.al/Y0tULuG
“The House of Representatives’ [Republican caucus] is comprised of the Trump party—with the exception of 10 or 11 reps,” says Rick. “They’re the pro-sedition, pro-insurrection, pro-mob party.” trib.al/Y0tULuG
EXCLUSIVE: Before he became the New York Times’ go-to reporter on the pandemic, Donald McNeil Jr. was under intense scrutiny over accusations that he used the “n-word,” and made wildly offensive and racist comments while leading a Times-hosted student trip trib.al/hB7QMBR
McNeil, a high-profile health and science reporter, accompanied a student group to Peru in 2019 that focused on community-based health care in the region.
After the trip, students and parents complained to the tour company about McNeil’s behavior. trib.al/hB7QMBR
“Not only did Donald say various racist comments on numerous occasions, but he was also disrespectful to many students during mealtimes and in other settings,” one participant wrote. trib.al/hB7QMBR
EXCLUSIVE: MyPillow CEO and staunch Trump ally Mike Lindell has retained celebrity attorney Charles Harder to go after the Daily Mail over a story claiming he had a secret affair with actress Jane Krakowski, The Daily Beast has learned trib.al/PDpg511
“Charles Harder is the attorney,” Lindell confirmed in a brief interview on Friday evening. “I never met this lady in my life and have never been to West Village and the Hamptons, where they said I was in the hit piece.” trib.al/PDpg511
Lindell said he believed the Mail story to be another “hit job” that was written because he “won’t let up on the...machine election fraud,” regarding the Trump-Biden presidential election trib.al/PDpg511